Mombeltrán Castle

Mombeltrán Castle lies, in the village by the same name, in the province of Avila in Spain.

Mombeltrán Castle lies on a beautiful spot, in the mountains of the Sierra de Gredos, just south of the pass of Puerto del Pico (alt. 1352 m).

There may have been earlier castles at this site, but the castle we see today was built by Don Beltrán de la Cueva, the first Duke of Albuquerque. He placed his coat of arms and those of his successive spouses above the entrance gate. This makes us believe that the construction of the castle took place between 1462 and 1474. The castle was donated to Don Beltrán by King Enrique IV, in 1461. Because there's architectural similarity between this castle and Belmonte Castle and Manzanares el Real Castle its architect probably has been Juan Guas. Although Mombeltrán Castle has a military and defensive appearance, there are also many details of luxury for a palatial residence. Also in the 16th century the castle was modified for even more comfort.

Basically the castle is a square of rubblework and granite ashlar masonry with circular towers in the corners. The largest of those towers was the keep which has a central column in its interior on which the floors rest. Around the castle there is a second enclosure which closely follows the outlines of the inner one. This enclosure is equipped with a barbican.

The castle is now owned by the town of Alburquerque and has no use. It can't be entered but there's a little village park on one side. This is a beautiful castle especially with the surrounding area. There's also a preserved Roman road nearby which led over the pass mentioned above.

Gallery